Rio de Janeiro to Receive 54 Billion Dollars in Investments from Petrobras

Petrobras Estimates to Invest the Amount in the Next Five Years, According to the Company President, the State of Rio de Janeiro Will Still Benefit from Increased Revenue

With growing oil production, Petrobras has ambitious investment targets in Rio de Janeiro, and in the next five years, the oil company expects to invest a total of US$ 54 billion in projects in the state.
The statement came from Petrobras President, Roberto Castello Branco, during a lunch at the Commercial Association of Rio de Janeiro.

The president stated that: “Our focus in the state of Rio de Janeiro is exploration and production of oil and gas, which does not include gas distribution and transportation. Possibly, gas-fired thermoelectric plants. This is the company’s focus. The company’s focus is not industrial. We are an oil company.”

Recomendado para você

Oil and Gas

Major Oil, Gas, and Energy Event Will Take Place in Brazil: Macaé Energy Will Gather Petrobras, Equinor, Prio, Among Other Suppliers and Energy Executives for Business, Networking, and Employment Opportunities

The Technical Agenda and the Fair in the City of Macaé Should Boost Discussions on Investments, Energy Transition, and Development of the Oil, Gas, and Energy Chain in the National...

Paulo Nogueira

1

The president also complained about the treatment Petrobras receives from the locals: “Petrobras is investing US$ 54 billion – nobody cares, nobody pays attention and they even complain. If a car factory comes here and decides to invest R$ 500 million, it will be welcomed with fanfare, pomp and circumstance. Nobody cares about the billions of dollars we are investing,” he reported.

The state of Rio de Janeiro, in addition to direct investments, will also benefit from the revenue from oil production.
The Petrobras president emphasized that, as the company has previously stated, it will intensify its focus on oil and gas exploration and production activities, and by 2022, its refining activities will also be concentrated in the states of São Paulo and Espírito Santo.

Just last year, Petrobras paid approximately R$ 17 billion in taxes to the state of Rio de Janeiro, an amount that is expected to increase this year and next year with foreign oil companies’ investments.
This fact led Castello Branco to tell state governor Wilson Witzel: “I told Governor Witzel a few months ago that he will be a oil sheikh because Rio de Janeiro will be the third-largest oil producer in the Americas. In 2022 and 2023, Rio de Janeiro will only be behind the United States and Canada.”

The Investments

Regarding the US$ 54 billion that the company will invest, about US$ 20 billion will be applied in the Campos Basin, through the purchase of exploratory blocks and partnerships with specialized companies in field recovery, to stabilize the production decline of the Pre-salt, as according to the president of Petrobras, the Campos Basin is already aged and needs “care.”

In addition to the Campos Basin, Comperj is another Petrobras project that will require investments. Currently, Petrobras is awaiting a study to determine which project will be pursued with the Chinese CNPC.

There is even a possibility of negotiating part of the Marlim field in the Campos Basin, with the Chinese company retaining 20% of the asset and Petrobras holding 80%, but CNPC would be responsible for building a refinery.

Today, Petrobras is investing US$ 4 billion in the construction of the Rota 3 gas pipeline to connect the pre-salt to the UPGN at Comperj.
The project employs 4,500 workers, according to Petrobras, most of whom were recruited from the Itaboraí region, and the forecast is to reach 7,500 people employed in the project.

Read also here on your CPG portal! Petrobras sells 7 fields in Rio Grande do Norte to 3R Petroleum!